How to Organize Your Job Search

Some of my clients suffer from “Analysis Paralysis” and simply don’t know the first step in starting an organized job search. An orderly and consistent system can increase productivity, reduce stress and often decrease the time it takes to find a job.

1. Wake Up Early with “Championship Thinking”– First and foremost, you must approach each day with a positive “Can Do” attitude. Start Monday morning off on the right foot with a positive affirmation, then eat a hearty breakfast, drink your coffee and get going on your full-time job, finding a job. Without a positive thinking, you’re toast! If you need help, seek out a professional.

2. Create Structure and Schedules – Set up a workstation or space in your home/office that is devoted to your job search. Have an established time when you will begin and end your job searching for the day and stick to it!!! If you were actually going to a real job, you would typically put in 8 to 10 hours a day. That’s how much time you have to put into your search Monday through Friday. Don’t get sidetracked by home projects you have wanted to do, going to the gym or running errands. You can’t do those things when you are at a real job, so don’t start now!!! They are distractions from your real purpose – to find employment and get back on your feet professionally and financially. Stay in routine!!! Be committed each day to your Job Search Time, but be sure take the weekends off. You deserve it, and you will definitely need a break from the stress. Get out of the house and enjoy the outdoors.

3. Set Goals – Even if you have a smart phone, buy a Month-at-a-Glance Planner™. Having a calendar will help you see the big picture. On Monday, list your job search task for the next five days. Next, break it down into your Daily Action List. List the two to three tasks that need to be accomplished each morning and each afternoon. These Micro-Goals will incrementally move you forward.

4. Stay Project Management Focused – Finding a job is a project, and you have to take the lead. You are the CEO of you. Exceed your goals, beat the deadline and give the extra effort. Review your productivity at the end of the day and keep yourself accountable.

5. Develop a Filing System – Only you can determine what works best for you, but I suggest you start with a series of Manila folders to keep hard copies of all of your documents. As you gather information on each company, an alphabetized system helps you stay organized during a phone call or interview. Label them: Job Openings, Jobs Applied To, List/Letters of Reference, Resumes, and Cover Letters. Prioritize all job openings into three categories: 1) Ideal Jobs, 2) Back-up or Realistic Jobs, and 3) Safety or Survival Jobs. Also, set up folders on your computer for anything you create. Your attention to detail is critical to your success.

6. Design an Employer Prospect List – Develop an extensive and targeted list of employers. It should be a spreadsheet with the following categories: Employer Name, Contact Person, Address, Phone, Email, Resume Sent, Follow-up Call, Interview, Thank You Sent, and Offer. Using a map draw a circle from your house outward as far as you would commute. Your assignment is to find all the employers within this “Commuting Radius of Tolerance.” Read the classifieds on Sunday to identify additional options. On Monday morning, set a specific goal of how many resumes to distribute each week. Review and re-evaluate your progress every Friday.

7. Build an Employer Research Record – This is a one page document which allows you to collect data on each employer. This should include: Employer Name, Type of Employer, Job Opening Title, Contact Person and Title, Referral Source, Full Mailing Address, Phone & Fax, Website & Email, Job Duties, Employer Mission, Employer Description, Size, Financial Health, Reputation, Employer’s Strengths & Weaknesses, Competitors, Salary Range, Benefits, Current Events, Resume Sent Date, Follow-up Call, First Interview Date, Thank You Letter, I Should Know By, Second Interview Date, Second Thank You Letter, and finally Notes. When you collect and organize the data this way, you will be better prepared for the interview and better informed about accepting an offer.

8. Organize Your Networking – Networking is your #1 priority. Go through your business cards, electronic address book, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter accounts and also obtain a list of alumni contacts from the schools you attended. Next, develop a networking spreadsheet of all of your connections prioritized into three categories: 1) Inner Circle, 2) Middle Circle, and 3) Outer Circle. Begin from the Inner Circle and work outward. Contact and schedule two networking meetings EVERY DAY and stick to it!!! Make sure your voice mail is positive and energetic. Ask for at least three additional referrals, leads, job opening and other sources of help from each networking meeting. Add at least five people to your LinkedIn account EVERY WEEK resulting in 20 per month. If you wake up and you are not buying a cup of coffee or lunch for someone TODAY, you are only extending your job search. Ask yourself, “How many phone calls will I make TODAY to incrementally move my job search forward? Ask yourself, “Who will I deputize as a “Job Search Agent” TODAY to help me find a job?” Ask yourself, “Who are your top ten Strategic Partners?”

9. Go to Bed Grateful – Get to bed at a reasonable hour and don’t stay up late on the Internet. You wouldn’t stay up late if you had to go to your real job the next day, so don’t start now!!! You can’t network with someone at midnight, but you can have coffee with someone the next day in the morning. Get some rest so you are fresh and energized when the new day begins.

10. Evaluate – At the end of each day, stop what you are doing and evaluate how it went. Review and evaluate your weekly progress on Friday. Ask yourself, “What’s working? What’s not working well? What do I need to start doing and also stop doing?